Performance highlights
2024 - 25
We monitor how the Council is doing against each of our six missions and report publicly on progress. Here we pick out some of the highlights and the challenges that we still face. More detail is available at Performance report | Cheshire West and Chester Council
Performance against our six missions
The increasing need, and the increasing complexity of need, for social care in Cheshire West and Chester remains a key challenge. Whilst the number of children in need has started to fall, the number of children in care, and the number of these children in residential accommodation remain high. We are continuing to develop alternative local accommodation and invest in early support that helps children and families to thrive.
Residential Care Worker, Joanne, talks about the qualities you need to be a care worker and the joy the role can bring.
More specialist foster carers are needed. Find out if you have what it takes to become one.
The Council supports children, young people and families through early help, safeguarding, care services, and support for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We also promote government support, such as expanded childcare, to help families stay safe, healthy and reach their full potential.
Council teams spoke to families across the borough to find out what they thought about the Starting Well service, which supports families of children and young people aged up to 19 (or 25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
While many people enjoy a good quality of life in Cheshire West and Chester, increasing numbers of families are facing hardship and poverty on a scale not seen for generations. Although there has been a welcome reduction in households in temporary accommodation, inequality in health and wealth continues to affect many.
Community Inspirers, people with lived experience of poverty, explain what it’s like to ask for help.
Samantha Cresswell, Case Management Officer talks about the Council’s proactive approach to preventing homelessness.
Food banks have become a staple in the lives of residents struggling with the rising cost of living. Local communities across the borough provide access to good quality, nutritious food at no or low cost, and some ‘green groceries’ have been set up to help prevent food waste in the community.
The Council working with Freedom Fibre has rolled out full fibre broadband to thousands of homes and businesses across the borough as part of their commitment to expanding digital inclusion - ensuring access to the internet for all through enhanced digital connectivity, infrastructure, equipment and skills.
The need for adult social care in Cheshire West and Chester continues to rise, as do the associated costs, a challenge facing most authorities nationally. To prevent and delay the need for long term care, we have introduced new ways of working, such as community led support and improved access to occupational therapy and reablement.
Reablement is the support provided to enable people to regain their independence. We are working with partners and service users so that new services are designed to better meet their needs. A new accommodation offer for people aged 18-64 with a learning disability, autism or mental health needs will ensure greater independence and more local provision.
Charlotte Walton, Executive Director of Adult Services talks about the Council’s ambition for adult social care.
Viv Gee, Chair of the Age-friendly Cheshire West Partnership talks about her volunteering experience and what she gets from it.
Lalita is one of many people who shared their experience of moving in a way that makes them happy, as part of the Joyful Movement campaign launched in July 2024. The emphasis of the campaign was firmly on fun, rather than keeping fit or embarking on a healthy lifestyle.
Drama Llamas is an amateur theatre group made up of adults who have a range of learning disabilities. The group wrote, produced, acted and made their own props for the pantomime ‘Cinders’. The pantomime was enjoyed by everyone who went along to see it.
Cheshire West and Chester continues to benefit from a strong and diverse economy, with higher rates of employment, skills, earnings, and productivity than many other areas. Work continues to ensure that as many people as possible can get the skills training and the support they need to benefit from that strong economy.
Find out what employment support in the workplace means and what help is available.
Matt Robinson, Director at MLA Restaurants Ltd explains why he sees Chester as a thriving city and a great place to invest in.
Staff in the Council’s Skills and Employment Hubs work alongside amazing young people with learning disabilities and neurodivergence to support them into internships and take that first step into a career – learning new skills and gaining experience through activities.
In October 2024, Syntol Lubricants relocated to new larger premises in Ellesmere Port with the support of a £10,000 innovation grant to facilitate the relocation and enable the fit out of the factory they purchased.
More of our streets and green spaces are staying clean and attractive. In part this is because local people are using bins, avoiding littering and taking their litter home with them. But there are still people who leave litter and who fly tip. So, it’s also about street cleaning - by council staff, local shopkeepers and by community groups.
Find out about the breadth of work carried out by our Public Protection Service. From patrolling our streets, monitoring the air we breathe to registering thousands of births, deaths and marriages each year.
Find out about the work carried out by our Environmental Services. From maintaining our play areas and green spaces, planting wildflower meadows to sweeping our roads and carrying out over 300,000 kerbside collections.
Exciting changes ahead. The refurbished iconic Northwich building will soon be home to a new library and learning space for all to enjoy. The library is a vital hub for the community in Northwich and the new designs prioritise its historical features and make it fit for the future.
Credit: Artist impressions created by Ellis Williams Architects
10 of the borough’s parks have been officially recognised once again as being amongst the best in the country. Green Flag Awards are the international quality mark for parks and green spaces. Staff, friends of groups, and volunteers ensure that high standards are maintained.
In line with our climate ambitions, we have been working with Mersey Forest to improve the quality of our existing woodlands, plant more trees and develop a large-scale planting programme for the next three years. The level of household waste that is reused, recycled or composted is stable at around 60%. Whilst this is positive, we need to work with communities to improve this rate.
Chester repair café helps residents to breathe new life into electricals, clothes and household items, saving them from landfill. Another success story made possible by Cheshire West Crowd.
Cheshire College, just one local organisation that is helping the borough to tackle the Climate Emergency and create greener, more sustainable communities. Hear more about the fully functioning sustainable house they have built.
The Council has one of the first electric mobile libraries in the country. The fully accessible vehicle includes solar panels and LED lighting and provides a vital service to communities across the borough.
The Council works with landowners across west Cheshire as the habitat delivery body for Natural England's great crested newt strategic licensing scheme, known as District Level Licensing. Since the scheme started in 2018, the Council has created over 170 ponds, including 15 in the last year. These are monitored regularly, ensuring they remain healthy and thriving habitats.
Doing things differently is about the Council working ever more closely with communities, scaling up prevention, raising our game with digital and insight, developing our workforce and strengthening our partnerships.